"Britons like a dose of rock band Coldplay to help them fall asleep" - a survey from hotel chain Travelodge found, according to a very recent Reuters note published early April this year. Well, should this situation persists even upon listening "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends", then these folks might want to see a doctor urgently. Coldplay's fourth album is, surely, their biggest venture into a more pop sonority, easily "digestible" by the masses, determined to conquer more and more fans and sympathizers in all corners of the world. It clearly has no connection to none of their past albums and this is just what makes it a worthwhile listening. It might be a sign that the band has redefined its own identity. Comparisons that has always been made to other bands like Radiohead or U2 are absolutely no longer valid if we use "Viva La Vida" as a reference. Definitely. Half the world had already listened to the album - either in legal or illegal ways - before its official release date in the US. The buzz around this album has been amazing here and everywhere: the marketing strategy of letting people download for free what is actually one of the best and most different tracks in the new album ("Violet Hill"), massive TV appearances with the iTunes commercial (running "Viva La Vida", another great song, on the background) and mostly positive reviews, passionately written, already out in countries on which the album was already released (most of the world had the album released on June 12), including some recent allegations that "Viva La Vida" track is a piece of plagiarism (look for the report at NME.com). All of that makes us wonder: Does the album deserve all the attention that it has been earning? Well, the answer is definitely YES (by the way, this is the song title of one of the album tracks - quite different indeed). This album comes to prove, more than ever, that U2 is U2, Radiohead is Radiohead and Coldplay is just Coldplay. Simple equation. Vive La Difference!Read full review
I bought the cd because my 4 year old heard the song Viva La Vida on the radio and loved it. I was hoping the rest of the cd would be good too, but it really wasn't. Viva la Vida was the only song on the cd that I liked. It was the only one that had any deviation from the patented "Coldplay" style. I also read about the legal controversy stating that Coldplay borrowed parts from another artist without permission. I'm beginning to wonder because Viva La Vida is a total departure of their sound and it was the best song on the cd in my opinion. If you want to listen to it, borrow it from someone who already has it or go on Youtube and listen to as many cuts as possible before you buy it. This reveiw is coming from a dancer whose family loves music. I have over 300 cd's, my nephew has over 700 (he worked for a music store), my brother has over 300 too. We listen to EVERYTHING. And we introduce new music and artists to eachother all the time.Read full review
Such a great cd by a awesome band! So glad I purchased it! I highly recommend it and if anyone hasn't heard it, you are losing out! There aren't enough stars to rate this cd!!!!!!!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This isn't a bad album overall--Coldplay keeps with their trademark style, but the vast majority of the tracks are unremarkable (and as another reviewer stated, mostly just full of noise). The X&Y album is quite different, with multiple ballads that can be appreciated because of their catchy tunes, which seem to grow on you. Sadly, constant listens to this Viva La Vida album only further confirmed that I could only stand 2-3 of the tracks for casual listening. Take it from this coldplay fan, buy the Viva La Vida track separately, and use your remaining savings to purchase the X&Y album, or even the Clocks album--both are better by leaps and bounds
It is hard to beat X&Y so I was not as happy with it as I was hoping. Of course I just may need to listen to it few more times. It seemed on their other albums that there were a few songs that stuck out and you liked immidately which I have not found on this one. However this group is one of my top repeaters in my cd collection and I have over a thousand cd's. Not only that they are one of only ten bands that I have every cd of, right up there with Pink Floyd and Led Zep. The musice is so diffternt that in certian moods I reach for it often. Doesn't hurt that my grilfriend likes them too. I'm hoping that few more rounds with this will have me grabing it more often.
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